Guan MP hints at petitioning President Mahama for removal of EC Chairperson

The Member of Parliament for Guan Constituency, Fred Kwesi Agbenyo, has hinted at plans to petition President John Dramani Mahama for the removal of Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) Jean Mensa.

The decision, according to the Guan MP, stems from his belief that the Chairperson of the Ghana’s electoral governing body overstepped her authority by issuing a letter barring people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Likpe and Lolobi (SALL) in participating in the 2020 parliamentary elections.

“I am going to petition the president (John Dramani Mahama) to ask the Chairperson of the electoral commission (Jean Mensa) to vacate her position because her responsibility is to register Ghanaians who are 18 years and above and to make sure that elections are conducted give opportunity to everybody to take part in an election”

The EC Chairperson’s decision at the time, was criticized by many including the then flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, who believed that the judiciary played part in denying the people of Santrokofi, Akpafu, Lolobi, and Likpe (SALL) of parliamentary representation.

In response, the EC in a statement before the 2024 general elections, clarified that the exclusion of voters in SALL from participating in the parliamentary elections on December 7, 2020, was not a deliberate disenfranchisement as being claimed by some but was unable to create the Guan constituency, which now covers SALL, due to the lateness of requests to do so and also because parliament was in recess at the time.

But the MP for the newly created constituency Fred Kwesi Agbenyo speaking on Metro TV’s news and current affairs program Inside Pages on Saturday, January 25, 2025, insisted that the EC Chairperson’s primary responsibility is to register eligible Ghanaians and ensure free and fair elections.

He explained that Jean Mensa’s actions contravene the 1992 Constitution and demanded that she be held accountable.

“I don’t know the law that is in the 1992 constitution for the EC chairperson to just issue a letter and tell a group of people that you won’t participate in an election and she did that. So we are going to invoke all these and make sure that she pays for these”

“I believe she has questions to answer” the first time member of parliament stressed.

By: Bright Yao Dzakah | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana

 

Have a news story, press release, or opinion piece you’d like to share with our audience? We’d love to hear from you! Please reach out to us at editor@metrotvonline.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LISTEN LIVE: ORIGINAL 91.9FM